Bill Text: SC H3893 | 2015-2016 | 121st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Dr. Melvin Leroy Howard
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 77-46)
Status: (Passed) 2015-03-24 - Introduced and adopted [H3893 Detail]
Download: South_Carolina-2015-H3893-Introduced.html
A HOUSE RESOLUTION
TO EXPRESS THE PROFOUND SORROW OF THE MEMBERS OF THE SOUTH CAROLINA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES UPON THE DEATH OF DR. MELVIN LEROY HOWARD OF FLORENCE AND TO EXTEND THEIR DEEPEST SYMPATHY TO HIS FAMILY AND MANY FRIENDS.
Whereas, the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives were deeply saddened to learn of the death of Dr. Melvin Leroy Howard of Florence on March 11, 2015; and
Whereas, born the son of James and Earnest Mae Howard on April 1, 1956, Melvin Leroy Howard was the fifth of seven siblings. After graduating from Southside High School in 1974, he entered the U.S. Army and served on active duty from 1975 through 1981. In addition, he served in the South Carolina Army National Guard from 1984 through 2005, retiring with the rank of lieutenant colonel. He serve in Operation Desert Storm and at the outset of Operation Iraqi Freedom, he served as a communications officer; and
Whereas, following active military service, he took up his duties with the Timmonsville Police Department as a patrol officer, a position in which he served for three years; and
Whereas, in 1982, Dr. Howard joined the South Carolina Highway Patrol and was assigned to Horry County. He was promoted to corporal in Williamsburg County in 1989, sergeant in Darlington County in 1992, lieutenant in Florence's District Five in 1994, and captain and leader of Troop Five in 2001. Appointed a field major at Highway Patrol Headquarters in 2004, he oversaw Highway Patrol operations in the lower half of the State; and
Whereas, in October 2007, Dr. Howard was promoted to lieutenant colonel and served as second-in-command of the Highway Patrol, which had a roster of nine hundred ten troopers. As Highway Patrol interim commander, he oversaw its enforcement and administrative activities, as well as special operations. Melvin Leroy Howard was the first African American to achieve the rank of lieutenant colonel within the Highway Patrol and the first African American to hold the prestigious position of its interim commander. He was retired at the time of his passing; and
Whereas, this native of Florence County was the beloved husband of Janice Alexander Howard for more than twenty-eight years and the proud father of one adult son, Simon Jamel Howard of Charlotte. He was a member of St. Paul AME Church in Effingham; and
Whereas, in furtherance of his education, he earned a bachelor's degree in criminal justice from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia; a master's degree in public administration from Troy State University in Troy, Alabama; and a doctorate in human services from Capella University in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He served as program director of criminal justice at South University in Columbia, and his training and skills enabled him to mentor many young boys with absent fathers; and
Whereas, Melvin Howard leaves to cherish his memory his dear wife and son and a host of other family members and friends. He will be greatly missed. Now, therefore,
Be it resolved by the House of Representatives:
That the members of the South Carolina House of Representatives, by this resolution, express their profound sorrow upon the death of Dr. Melvin Leroy Howard of Florence and extend their deepest sympathy to his family and many friends.
Be it further resolved that a copy of this resolution be provided to Mrs. Janice Alexander Howard for the family.
